Bob Heapy Chief Executive Town & Country Housing Group Voluntary Right To Buy Bob Heapy Chief Executive Town & Country Housing Group

Key principles of the agreement Right to Buy discounts available for qualifying housing association tenants Broad principles agreed nationally Local Board control over which homes to sell, but a presumption in favour of sale Full compensation at market value Flexible one for one national replacement

Key principles of the agreement (continued) Designed to allow access to home ownership for more people but not designed to meet every expectation Qualifying tenants whose homes are excluded from sale will have a ‘portable discount’ Discounts (or portable discounts) contained in sector (i.e. cannot be used for open market purchase) Government will publish ‘high level’ eligibility criteria (initially expected to be 10 years as a social tenant) ‘Claw back’ of discount for tenants who sell within 5 years

Timetable September 2015 Launch of the Voluntary Right to Buy Deal October–November 2015 Member engagement and sign up December–April 2016 Sounding Board, working group meetings and workshops May 2016 Royal Assent of Housing & Planning Bill September– November 2016 Sounding board final discussions TBC Launch of scheme

Structure DCLG ministers Sounding Board Chair: the Federation 14 housing association reps DCLG, HCA, GLA and the Housing Ombudsman Workshops on portability, eligibility, LSVTs, CLTs, rural, co-ops, supported housing One for one working group Chair: the Federation Dep. Chair: DCLG Applications and sales process working group Chair: DCLG/HCA Dep. Chair: the Federation

VRTB pilots THAMES VALLEY HOUSING

VRTB pilots Pilots are testing the application process, demand, and sales process Not testing replacement and portability Action learning – Sheffield Hallam Inform the development of the main scheme

Outcome from the pilots Expected levels of initial interest Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) supportive including the use of discounts as a ‘deposit’ ‘Manageable’ levels of potential fraud, majority of issues benefit fraud Lower levels of conversions into sales Few complications in terms of process Resource hungry in terms of managing expectations of tenants and process

Regulation 2016 Housing and Planning Act ‘expectation that housing providers will publish a home ownership offer’ – the VRTB will discharge that obligation Providers that do not sign up ‘expected to publish an alternative offer’ – unfunded by government Possible regulation and monitoring of home ownership offer as a new regulatory standard

The process Work continues however……. Fully digital DCLG will operate a ‘national gateway’ the initial point of access Tenants will register and the national gateway will be the first filter. Tenants will be required to pass certain criteria Tenants that pass this criteria, if funding is available, will be given a URN Tenants will then have 4 weeks to apply to their housing association with a formal application. Tenants that fail to apply within 4 weeks will need to re-apply

The process (continued) The housing association will take a detailed review of tenants eligibility (including anti-fraud and affordability checks) The housing association will consider if the property is restricted If tenant passes and property is not restricted sale continues If tenant passes but property is restricted a portable discount is offered If tenant fails, process ends

You must consider applications and sales Associations will need to develop a local sales policy by: Understanding any contractual limitations on any sales which may be caused as a result of Section 106 agreements or other restrictive covenants in advance Discussing with your Board how you intend to exercise your discretion and key principles by which you will operate VRTB in your local area Publishing your local policy on how you intend to use your discretion so that it is clearly available to tenants when they apply

The application process Consider how you will highlight key sources of information and advice to your tenants Consider how your approach to VRTB can be integrated with your wider approach to home ownership Consider how you will handle and respond effectively to tenant complaints

The application process (continued) Think about how you would operate key elements of the application process. Would you prefer: An online application form or paper application form? Face to face interviews with tenants or home visits? Consider developing your local RICS accredited list Consider what checks and balances you could include in the process to help you identify fraudulent applications

Portability – key elements Portability is offered where an association exercises their discretion not to sell one of their properties Every housing association will need to develop a portability policy which should outline to tenants what a reasonable portability offer would look like

Portability - what we know Part of voluntary offer so not open to legal challenge Portability policy must be ‘reasonable’ and clear but will be different for different providers Housing Ombudsman ‘do you have a policy, is it reasonable and have you applied it?’ Cannot be used in open market Cannot be used for other housing associations or local authority stock (unless partnership agreement offered) Can be used for housing associations own new build stock

What associations can do to prepare for portability Consider which properties you are planning to exercise discretion not to sell Consider what properties you will be offering to tenants with a portable discount Develop your portability policy If desired, establish partnerships with other housing associations

One for one replacement – key principles National one for one replacement Flexibility over the type, tenure and location of replacement home Homes will be sold at market value and associations will be fully compensated Presumption that replacement will be through building a new home Open market purchase is an option

One for one replacement – recommendations made so far When the delivery of replacements can start What homes can be counted as replacements The triggers for the payment of the discount The principles that will underpin reporting The type of data that will be reported on The importance of development consortia Other mechanisms that will help replacements

Outstanding issue Funding (risk that RCFG or unallocated AHP funds may be redirected) Sheltered and supported homes (differing opinions at NHF and VRTB Sounding Board) Portable discounts, what is a reasonable offer? Managing expectations of tenants who cannot buy due to central funding restrictions or unavailability of homes to port discount One for one replacement, repayment of discount and backstop date Potential to link with High Income Social Tenants (HIST)